04.26.06
Posted in General at 12:08 pm by Christine
Many people have been telling me to try out the new Ask.com. It seems that since Jeeves retired, Ask has really stepped up into the realm of search.
For SEOs out there this is a handy little tool to incorporate as part of your keyword research as it provides basic related search phrases to your query based on what people have searched for in the Ask database. Also their IQ, or interesting queries page (although not new in terms of what it represents), is well, interesting. One can view the top search phrases for the week, top news searches and top advancing searches for the week.
Coming back to multi-channel marketing in terms of offline collaborating with online. Years ago when Google popularized search, the traditional media industry was peeved. More and more clients were diverging their marketing budget spend to the online arena and it became a battle for budgets.
I’ve always tried to convince clients that it should not be a battle between online and offline, but rather a combined effort. They would receive much more “bang for their buck” that way.
With Google’s latest endeavours into the more traditional media such as print and radio, it seems to have everyone on the run again.
But Google should not be viewed as a threat. It should be seen as the bigger brother in the advertising community. Is it not in fact just a large advertising / marketing company itself?
This may just be the way for old-school media to diversify their revenue streams, and a way for online marketers to benefit from the more traditional media being able to fill in the gap.
I’d recommend that agencies start paying attention to the potential of JVs with online marketing specialists and vice versa. Seek out a specialist and arrange an introduction over a cup of coffee. I enjoy a good latte by the way 
Permalink
04.25.06
Posted in General at 12:17 pm by Christine
I started writing this post last week, but never seem to have the time publish it…
I was very excited to read this article last week about how the online ad industry is really taking off in South Africa and set to treble over the next three years. The SA online marketing era really has come of age and it is a great time to be a part of it.
In the article OPA chairperson Russell Hanly agreed:
“The online advertising industry in South Africa is growing rapidly and can now claim itself to be tracking global growth trends.
“This study proves that online advertising has really found its feet; but it also shows that the industry needs to push hard to achieve its potential and educate advertisers on new internet technology and usage trends,” said Hanly.
I really do agree that the numbers have the potential to be that much higher once we (the online marketers) collaborate with the advertising industry. A combination such as this has true potential and will add great overall value to clients. Clients that adopt multi-channel marketing (both online and offline) will be a force to be reckoned with in their industry. Ogilvy has the right idea and are the first of many to adopt this concept IMO.
There are still many, many areas / industries that yet remain unexplored or have not yet been introduced to the potential value of online marketing here in South Africa. I believe that only with true passion could this be taken the extra mile.
It is time to step up to the plate.
On a Personal Note:
Well it seems that good ‘ol Eskom are starting with load shedding here in Cape Town again this week so we will have sporadic power cuts again.
Joey and I had a great weekend away in the Bainskloof mountains. Although it rained consistently the entire weekend, it did not stop the vino from warming our hearts (and ice cold bodies), having a BBQ and an all round great time away. I love what I do, but I tell you, a weekend without even so much as looking at a search engine, tracking conversions and positioning really does wonders…lol.
Last night we went to a really interesting whisky tasting. Joey will tell you more about our whisky and cheese evening.
Permalink
04.18.06
Posted in General at 12:29 pm by Christine
Ok, so I’ve been playing around with the Calendar some more and all my little features work.
I managed to create a shared calendar without any problems – and am finding this really convenient to track our busy schedules with. Had a few snags the first time I set up an event, but I had no problem editing it after.
The event mailings to Gmail could be designed to be a little more user-friendly, at the moment I am finding them too busy in the sense that they are providing the user with too many options to reply. The “view your calendar” link should be more than sufficient – but at the moment when clicked takes the user to the current date, instead of taking the user to the event request date.
I am still very impressed with how incredibly fast this GUI is though.
I have also now found the area where it integrates in the Gmail interface. I was expecting to see a mini calendar or high-level overview of some sorts, but instead have only been met with a text link in the top left hand corner which takes you to the Calendar. It’s nice as you don’t have to log-in and log-out every time that you switch from Gmail to Calendar and vice versa.
However it opens in a new window (whichever way you go). Which is nice I suppose if you’re busy reading something in your Gmail and trying to schedule an event, but you could potentially have loads of open windows should you forget that you’ve already got one or the other open – which could potentially be laborious and not very user-friendly.
It would be nice if Google integrates a mini calendar into the Gmail interface at some point. (hint-hint)
On a personal note:
Easter has come and gone. Thank goodness, cause if I see another chocolate bunny it will be too soon
Joey and I missed King Kong on the big screen, but managed to catch it on the weekend. What an epic movie.
And if you’re thinking that we’re couch potatoes – think again. Joey has become quite the athlete and has attended 3 “fun runs” (10km) in the last three weeks. His first half marathon is coming up in July. Yours truly is slowly being roped into this lifestyle and will be joining him as soon as she gets more time on that treadmill to catch up.
Permalink
« Previous entries